Qi Yin Tang|Beautiful Chanting Hall
late 19th–early 20th century
Medium
Ink
Dimensions
H. 2 1/8 in. (5.4 cm); W. 2 5/8 in. (6.7 cm)
Classification
Ink
Culture & Period
China · late Qing dynasty (1644–1911) or early Republic period (1912–49)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1930
Accession Number
30.76.248
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Asian Art collection, *Qi Yin Tang | Beautiful Chanting Hall* is a delicate ink impression by the artist Jian Guzhai, dating to the late 19th or early 20th century This tiny work—measuring just 2 1/8 by 2 5/8 inches—likely captures the refined carving of a personal seal, a hallmark of Chinese literati culture during the waning Qing dynasty (1644–1911) or the dawn of the Republic period (1912–49). Seals like this were essential tools for scholars, poets, and artists, stamped in red ink on paintings, calligraphy, or documents to authenticate ownership ...
About the Artist
Jian Guzhai
Jian Guzhai — meaning roughly "Studio for Appreciating the Antique" — was a renowned ink-tablet workshop operated by the Wang Jinsheng family in the Huizhou region of Anhui Province, China, one of the historic centers of fine inkstick production. Active during the late Qing dynasty (1644–1911) and possibly into the early Republic period (1912–49), the workshop was celebrated for producing ink tabl...